Chapter 1 Snow Covers Pines and Cypresses
Who else could that girl be if not Wen Youqing?
The nobles were stunned for a moment, instinctively returning the greeting, but none of them recovered. After a long moment, someone said, "You don't even look down on this! You really have high standards."
Wang Xiuwen felt humiliated, but he couldn't refute anything. Thinking of the girl's smile, he took a sip of wine and started chatting with others again.
But Cui Junji did not really reveal the matter. He looked at Wang Xiuwen with a smile, then suppressed his smile and glanced into the distance while drinking tea.
He had heard of his verbal engagement and had met Wen Youqing several times. In his impression, she was a rather outstanding noble lady, dignified and boring. Even if she was lively for a moment like today, she was just a picture of a lady blown by the wind.
Furthermore, she was three years older than him, came from an average family background, and was of no help to him at all. She was not the perfect candidate for a wife without any faults.
He really doesn't like people like this.
He really didn't want such a marriage.
—
Winter snow reunion.
The atmosphere inside the Wen Mansion was even colder than outside.
Wen's father paced back and forth, while Wen's mother stood beside him like a clay Buddha.
As soon as he entered the room, Wen Youqing felt this nameless pressure and bowed, saying, "Father and Mother, you are looking for me."
Father Wen finally stopped pacing and overturned the teacup in front of him, sending broken porcelain flying everywhere, which made Wen Youqing's heart skip a beat.
"You just like to show off. You've really been out there all these years. Look what you wrote?" The paper that Wen's father threw over was a copy of the birthday poem she had written for the old lady of the Wang family.
"Is there anything wrong with this poem? I showed it to my father at that time, and there was no problem." At that time, Wen's father and mother even invited a teacher to correct it. Why is he now accusing me of being careless?
"You are so arrogant! I was fooled by your pretentious appearance! I didn't even look closely!"
Wen's mother tried to smooth things over, but every word she said was filled with Wen Youqing's fault. "Son, don't blame your father. A scholar saw your letter today and made a few casual comments. Somehow, it got around. He said your entire poem rhymes with the Yang Tang rhyme, ang, which is the same rhyme as the name of Cui Gong's eldest son, Cui Chang, who died young. And there's also this numerology conflict. The fifty-six characters in your poem contain twenty-eight pairs of yin and yang, which is in line with the fortune-telling saying 'Twenty-eight is not a longevity'..."
Wen Youqing couldn't hear a single word of what was said afterwards. Her mind was a mess. Was he a scholar or a charlatan? How could he even explain the principles of yin and yang so clearly?
"Even if my daughter violated a taboo, it was unintentional. Now, for the sake of the Wen family, father should help her find a solution."
Father Wen was displeased by these words, but he couldn't lose his temper. He simply put down the newly replaced teacup and said, "You made the mistake first. It's easy to explain to the Wang family. The Cui family are all gentlemen. Gentlemen are trustworthy and won't hold a grudge over such a small matter."
Wen Youqing knew her father would say this, so she would just blame the mistakes on him and had no temper towards outsiders, especially the Cui family, with whom she wanted to establish a relationship.
Keep your promises. Talk to the person who should keep them. What's the point of talking to her? On a different note, if Cui Junji was a poor boy, Wen's father would have wished he hadn't had the token.
Wen Youqing was just thinking about this and would not actually say it out loud, so he stopped talking and stood respectfully aside.
Father Wen coughed lightly and motioned Mother Wen to continue, as if he had spread the rumor and soiled his mouth.
Wen's mother carefully considered her words before saying, "You shouldn't have gotten into these textual troubles. You must be careful with your words and actions in the future and not let outsiders find any fault with you." It was as if she believed the rumors of others and thought it was her fault.
"Again?" Wen Youqing glanced up at her mother. Her face was filled with the compassion of a bodhisattva, yet somehow unsympathetic. She glanced at her father, who looked disgruntled, as if blaming his wife for not offering a more vexing explanation.
Wen Youqing lowered her head and said, "Yes, my daughter must be careful with her words and actions and not listen to the rumors spread by others."
She deliberately emphasized the word "others", and sure enough, Wen's father and mother's faces turned ugly for a moment. They couldn't figure out which scholar had passed on the interpretation of this poem, so they could only vent their anger on their daughter.
It seems that as long as they are blameless, others will not point fingers at them.
Wen Youqing and Sishi returned to their own courtyard, and Sishi angrily said, "Master and Madam are well aware of the Cui family's behavior in recent years. It's strange that no one has said anything. Why don't they help their own children and instead criticize you, young lady?"
On the table were still yesterday's poems. Wen Youqing didn't like reciting poems or composing couplets, nor did she dare to directly quote famous works by famous authors. If she could use them, others could too. If that person had bad intentions, she would be in trouble.
"Did you find out?"
"I found out," Si Shi's tone lowered considerably, and he stammered, "It's certainly not a good thing. Miss, please don't get involved."
"explain."
Si Shi took in Wen Youqing's calm expression and said, "Miss, everyone says you've earned the reputation of a talented woman. You're so polished and polished every day, even disregarding the taboos of your future husband's family. Miss! What they say is so harsh. You're clearly not that kind of person! Next time I see you, I'll definitely fight you back and vent my anger."
The person's expression was typically calm, yet it made Sishi nervous. After a moment's silence, Wen Youqing snorted coldly and said, "That's really harsh. Tomorrow's class, just say I'm not feeling well and ask for leave."
"Miss, what's wrong with you?" Si Shi immediately panicked, thinking Wen Youqing was really upset by the gossip. But Wen Youqing suddenly smiled brightly, and Si Shi realized that expression didn't mean she had figured it out, but was full of bad intentions.
"Have you heard? Our talented girl hasn't come to the private school for three months. I heard that she is very ill." The students gathered together, regardless of gender, and they all gossiped.
"I guess it's just like what others say. I can't get up there, and I got sick when I got anxious."
"He's not necessarily sick, but probably too embarrassed to face people. He talked about being engaged, but it's been several years since he came of age, and there's been no news from the other side. Now, in order to curry favor with a half-buried Wang family, he has offended the Cui family. He really has no idea what he's doing."
"Yes, let me..." The young man who spoke was young, and probably because of the rare atmosphere of noisy chatter, he couldn't help but interrupt.
Before Huo Qizhan could lose his temper and yell at anyone, the young master was secretly beaten by his own sister. As for the rules of the aristocratic family, it was enough for both parties to know each other. Who would say it out loud?
This sentence was like a silent thunderclap, completely shattering the lively atmosphere of gossip among the children. Everyone said goodbye politely and got into their carriages in an orderly manner.
Of course, Huo Qizhang told Wen Youqing every word of this conversation. Wen Youqing rubbed her head, which was dizzy from too much sleep, and said, "Not enough."
"Not enough? You've said it so harshly, what else do you want? Do you want your reputation?" Huo Qizhan drank a cup of tea and said angrily.
"Everything has its limits. Just wait and see. Let's light another fire." Wen Youqing smiled slyly, "Try the yogurt I made today."
"What is that? It's another weird thing." Huo Qizhan said with disgust, but his actions were very honest. He had already followed.
Life was peaceful here, but the rumors outside were getting more and more outrageous. Some even said that Wen Youqing offered herself to Cui Junji for his bed, but was thrown out directly, which made him write this poem in anger.
Even though the commotion was so big, the Cui family did not take any action, not even helping to clarify the matter.
The current mistress of the Cui family is the eldest daughter of the Wang family. She had heard about these things from others before, and she only said one thing: "Don't mess with Zihe."
The Cui family benefited from these rumors. Such an official family was indeed unworthy of the Cui family. Fortunately, Cui Junji was still young, so he would not let others say that the Cui family did not keep their promises.
That girl is nineteen years old this year. If we let such rumors continue, I guess she won't be able to hold on for long and will take the initiative to cancel the engagement.
The mistress thought so and sighed, "Poor girl."
If you really feel pain, you will never do such a thing.
The nanny beside her also said comfortingly: "It's because the girl is unlucky and can't bear the blessing of the young master."
The nanny had already inquired about the details of the Wen family girl and said with some regret: "Madam, Miss Wen is outstanding except for her status. It would be better to grant her the status of a concubine. She will be able to live in peace when she comes in."
It's not that the mistress hasn't thought about this, but on what grounds? If she's engaged but she's a concubine, wouldn't the blame be on her own family?
Give up a woman in the back house to save face.
There is no need to weigh the pros and cons at all.
Seeing that the mistress just took a sip of tea, the nanny knew that she had broken her promise and stood respectfully aside with her head lowered.
The chaotic footsteps outside the door were getting closer and closer. The head maid hurried in and bowed politely when she saw the mistress. However, she looked up and met the slightly dissatisfied eyes of the nanny. But she didn't care about that anymore and said, "Oh no, something happened to Miss Wen."
Today, the Wang family held a snow-viewing banquet, as this was the first time the eldest daughter of the Wang family had taken the initiative to organize a banquet. This was a very important event for both officials and women from aristocratic families, just like a national examination for women.
In the past, Wen Youqing was always a guest of honor, and his presence, when he wrote a couple of lines of poetry, gave the host family some face. But now that something like this had happened, the Wang family, for some reason, still invited Wen Youqing. So, Wen Youqing, who hadn't recovered from his illness, came specifically to show his support, only to be met with disdain upon entering.
"She went there just as the Wang family sent the invitation, without even trying to avoid suspicion. No one knows who started it at the banquet, but she deliberately asked about the wedding poem. Everyone was talking about it, but no one could find the culprit. What she said was really unpleasant, and Miss Wen replied, 'I don't know anything about the things you are asking about,' and was about to leave. But Miss Yi knocked over a cup, and Miss Wen stumbled, vomited blood, and fainted. Both the Wang and Wen families were in chaos, but the most important thing is that now everyone has changed their tone." The head maid blurted out everything she had found out, for fear of missing any news.
Madam Wang stopped on her way to the Wang family's house and asked sternly, "What has happened?"
The eldest maid swallowed her saliva and said cautiously, "It is said that the master and his wife did not keep their promise, so they had someone fabricate those stories and dragged a young woman to death."
The hands in her wide sleeves suddenly clenched tightly, and the mistress glanced at the head maid calmly, "I want to hear their original words."
The head maid, knowing her mistress's temperament well, immediately knelt and reported, "The young men and women at the banquet were all frightened and began to sympathize with Miss Wen, saying they had also heard about it from their elders. Miss Wen had indeed never mentioned the engagement. If there was no engagement, she should have explained it clearly long ago. If there was an engagement and she didn't want to fulfill it, she should have said so too."
As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell into deathly silence.
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